At a village in northern Laos, staff from Luang Prabang Public Library and Village Science, a US-based non-governmental organisation, hand out soap and books about hygiene to children. They read the books with older students and do colouring or writing exercises with younger ones. The books have been written by a volunteer at the library and been brought to the village on the library’s Library Boat for Lao Children. The project is one of several the library has done with Village Science delivering books and other learning materials to villages around Luang Prabang.